THEIR GUY . . . OUR GUY . . .

This just about sums it up . . . S.L.


Their guy . . .




Our guy . . .




Sent in by my good friend and schoolmate The Ferret.

TALIBAN USING MERCENARY SNIPERS?

This is from the worthy site WEASEL ZIPPERS









(Telegraph)- A British soldier killed while manning a watchtower in Afghanistan may have been the latest victim of a hired Taliban sniper stalking the town of Sangin, it has been claimed.

Sapper Darren Foster of the Royal Engineers was shot as he passed a narrow slit in a bulletproof glass screen around a lookout post in the northern Helmand town.

US forces have disclosed that he is thought to have been one of three victims of a sniper at work in the area in just a week. One US marine was killed as he momentarily stepped out of an armoured vehicle to drop off a rubbish bag and another was injured on a bridge nearby.

The shootings raised fears that the Taliban may have hired a mercenary sniper to target Nato forces in the town which is now considered the most dangerous in Afghanistan.

There have been claims that at least three snipers trained in Iran or Pakistan are thought to be at work across Afghanistan.

Earlier this year it emerged that the SAS had been sent out to track a Taliban sniper operating around Sangin.

A senior officer disclosed that a single gunman was thought to be responsible for the deaths of up to seven soldiers from 3rd Battalion, the Rifles, stationed in Sangin.

Sapper Foster, 20, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, was on duty in a lookout post at Patrol Base Sangin Fulod on August 13.

The post is protected by thickened glass with only small gaps through which those on guard can point their weapons.

US forces, working alongside British troops at the base, disclosed that it is thought the gunman timed a single shot for the moment he walked past the opening.

“He hit a moving target in a space this big,” Captain Jim Nolan, a company commander serving with the US Seventh Marine Regiment told the Wall Street Journal, holding his hands about nine inches apart.


more . . .


(Daily Mail)- Four foreign snipers hired by the Taliban, thought to be responsible for the deaths of ten British soldiers, have been hunted down and killed.

The mercenaries were found by British special forces in Helmand province in Afghanistan after a tip-off from locals. They were put under close surveillance until their identities were confirmed, then air strikes were called in.

The operation ended a killing spree that lasted weeks and could have led to the deaths of up to ten British soldiers.

Recruited from Pakistan, Egypt and Chechnya, the snipers could kill from up to 650 yards away and were considered a serious threat by British commanders.

Their victims included Sapper Darren Foster, 20, from Whitehaven, Cumbria, who was killed by a single shot from 600 yards, which went through a 9in gap in a look-out post near Sangin.

When their identities were confirmed and their exact locations ascertained, pilots of U.S. F-16 jets were sent precise coordinates to ensure their high-explosive bombs killed the enemy without hurting innocent civilians.

In both cases, elite SAS and SBS troops, working with crack US and Afghan Special Forces, were involved.


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SELF-STYLED TERMINATOR TERMINATES SELF

CIA ASSASSIN OR GREAT STORY TELLER?

This story first appeared in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Roland Haas, a pathetic wannabe who described himself as a former CIA assassin, accidentally shot and killed himself Saturday. Haas, 58, died after driving a short distance from his apartment, stopping his car on a busy street and exiting it with the engine running. Investigators believe he had a 9mm semi-automatic handgun tucked in his waist and it accidentally discharged. Haas was struck in the leg, rupturing his femoral artery.

"We don't have anything to show that he did it intentionally," said Maj. James Yarbrough, Coweta County Sheriff's spokesman.

In a book he wrote, Haas detailed executing an Afghanistan heroin dealer and the man's two bodyguards, and described undergoing torture in an Iranian jail. People hailed it as a gritty, realistic account of Cold War spying.

Haas's motives for writing his 2007 book, "Enter the Past Tense: My Secret Life as a CIA assassin," are far more unclear. He claimed he was only 19 and a Purdue University student on an NROTC scholarship in 1971 when the CIA recruited him as a deep cover operative.


Bullshit - in 1971 the ranks were loaded with qualified operators with beaucoup experience from Southeast Asia. What the hell would the CIA want with a snot-nosed college kid still wet behind the ears?


At a Fayetteville bookstore appearance, Haas explained matter of fact how he supposedly killed the three men in Afghanistan and the effect it had on him.


Oh how I wish I was there that day. I would have called this guy out on his bullshit phony-baloney war stories. I would have shamed this guy into the middle of next week. I would have made him feel so low down and worthless, trying to pull off a chest-thumping stunt like this in front of an audience of real war heroes, he would have gone home to his hotel room and offed himself then and there, never mind the car stunt in Atlanta.


"Three people were deleted, they were removed," he said. "Those three acts irrevocably changed who I was . . . The day I undertook that first mission successfully, I ceased being the person I had been."

Of his time spent incarcerated in an Iran jail, he said: "The good thing is, you only feel about the first three or four hits and then you pretty much pass out."


Bullshit. Those Middle East regimes staff their prisons with professional goons, and they know how to make the pain go on, and on, and on to the point that just the teensiest pink-prick feels like you've just been skewered with a red-hot iron bar. This guy can't even lie good.


The official word out of Washington on this idiot:

"This individual was never a CIA employee," said Paula Weiss, CIA spokeswoman.

Specifically, the national intelligence agency says Haas wasn't a contractor, freelancer or hired in any capacity.


Plagiarism suggested.

Some readers immediately questioned the source and accuracy of his information. In an Amazon.com review of the book, a man named Geoff Deane accused Haas of using an account of a drug user and a shootout from a website article he wrote, replete with an error Deane had committed.

"It sounded very familiar when I read it," Deane wrote.

Haas's book was published by Dulles, Va.-based Potomac Books, which lists several titles invyolving intelligence themes. Claire Noble, publicity manager, described Haas as "a patriot who made his country better," and said Potomac had no reason to take issue with the book.

"His story passed muster with our outside reviewers and inside editorial board," Noble told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


Yah, R-I-G-H-T . . . even my little-itty-bitty Korean wife saw through this guy's bullshit, looking over my shoulder as I scripted this post together: "HAH! Him shoot SELF??? That because he a STOOPID! This guy more full bull-dookey than a three-day Kimchee-eating contest!"


What's even MORE unbelievable is that Haas had a verifiable intelligence background; he was a civilian employee with the U.S. Army Reserve Command at Fort McPherson (metro Atlanta), deputy chief of staff for intelligence since 1995, according to Maj. Corey Schultz, Army Reserve spokesman. Records showed Haas came to his post from Wildflecken, Germany.


Just goes to show how a dedicated bullshit artist can pass initial muster, thrive and survive in a bureaucracy as big and wide as the U.S. Department of Defense. What's really unbelievable is the fact that he was able to keep his security clearance after transmitting such a really huge whopper like this.


Haas's duties included planning and coordinating Army Reserve resourcing, training and support within the broader Army and Department of Defense intelligence community. In this role, he had no reason to carry a gun. He was more of a computer geek.

Geek is right. A dead geek.

Spy Talk, a Washington Post blog, reported that a handful of former CIA officers were so turned off by Haas's book, they protested his employment to his Army Reserve supervisors. "As one of an increasing number of former intelligence officers who believes that Roland Haas' book . . . is a hoax, I find your willingness to tolerate Mr. Haas in his scam very disturbing," wrote John F. Sullivan, a retired CIA polygrapher.


How classic is this? A professional bullshit detector called this guy out on his bullshit!


Marilyn Haas still doesn't question her husband's assertions he was a CIA operative, though she admitted that family members had no knowledge of it until the book was released.

"The family did not know, believe me," she said. "We knew when everyone else did, when the book came out."


That's because he never did any of it, Marilyn. I hate to put it to you like this, but you were married to a bullshit artist. He was a Legend in his Own Mind.


As for the CIA distancing itself from her husband, Marilyn Haas had a ready explanation: "Of course, they said that."


Thus is perpetuated the Perfect Lie - Haas never did any of the shit he describes, and the CIA will therefore continue to denounce the book and its author - the ultimate Plausible Denial.


Bet you dollars to doughnuts old Nerd Nuts never gets a star on the wall, either.


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ITs JUST A PAR THREE

Forget pitch and putt - this tee-off point on top of a 1,410 ft. mountain in South Africa is the hardest golf shot in the world, and more than $1 million awaits the player who can score a hole in one.

Players must take a helicopter to the top to play the longest and highest par three on the planet.




Taking the shot also requires courage. A player needs to teeter terrifyingly close to the edge of the mammoth hillside.

Indeed, the Extreme 19th Hole is so high the ball takes almost 30 seconds to reach the ground.

Channel Nine cricket commentator Mark Nicholas recently joined an elite list to have the shot in just three swings.

"It was awesome, riveting and phenomenal," he said, "it's like the end of the world when you get up there and it's an awful lot of fun.

It's such an adrenaline rush taking the helicopter up and then rushing back down."

The hole is based at the Legends Golf and Safari Resort, within the Entabeni Safari Conservancy in South Africa's Northeastern Limpopo Province . The other 18 holes were designed by world golfing legends including Trevor Immelman, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington and Australia's Robert Allenby.

A round of golf - including a buggy and lunch - will set you back R450 ($70).

The Extreme 19th costs is $1060 per four ball, that includes helicopter ride, souvenir cap, glove, and a DVD of you playing the hole.

So far, no one has even come close pocketing the million-dollar prize, but Harrington became the first golfer to conquer the hole within par.

Harrington said, "This is the type of innovation and excitement we need to get more people playing golf. There aren't many new innovative ways to play the game but this is certainly one of the best. I think this hole is awesome. I love the whole experience, the helicopter, the views, the drama and having the green the shape of Africa. And now I've got bragging rights over all the other professionals who have played this hole and not managed to make a three. I love everything about it."


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CAPTURED ! ! !

Scratch one phony wannabe . . . S.L.


OFFICER IMPERSONATOR ARRESTED IN DEADHORSE, ALASKA


The imposter William Clark






August 28th, 2010 04:03 PM

FAIRBANKS -- A man who served prison time for impersonating an Army officer at the scene of an Oklahoma bridge collapse has been arrested in the North Slope community of Deadhorse. William J. Clark, 37, had outstanding warrants in five states, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Saturday.

The director of the North Star Council on Aging contacted Fairbanks police earlier in the week after Clark displayed a handgun. Though Clark posed as a military police officer, the woman told police she thought he was mentally ill or a jail escapee.

Despite the outstanding warrants, Fairbanks police let Clark go because he did not show up as a convicted felon in a statewide database. A national database was not checked until it was too late.

A hunter who read a newspaper article about Clark contacted police, reporting that he met a man in military fatigues who fit Clark's description, said Fairbanks police Sgt. Eric Jewkes.


That would be THIS article, no doubt - referenced in STORMBRINGER


The man believed to be Clark mentioned he was going to Deadhorse, more than 400 miles north of Fairbanks. North Slope Borough police found Clark at the Prudhoe Bay Hotel on Friday and he was arrested without incident, Jewkes said.

Clark is expected to be flown back to Fairbanks within the next few days.

Clark's most recent stint in jail ended in August 2009, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.


Yeah, well, you're about ready to go back to the Big House there, Big Boy. I wonder what prison's like in Alaska in the wintertime?


This month a Davenport, Iowa, television station reported that Clark is suspected of passing a bad check at a computer store in April. The man who passed the check reportedly said he needed a laptop for his deployment to Afghanistan.


The merchant of that store in Davenport brought that information to our attention HERE.


Fairbanks police also are investigating Clark as a suspect in several cases of bad checks being passed off around the city, Jewkes said. Similar fraud charges are anticipated in Juneau.


This news is significant on many levels: A) a bizarre con man whose criminal scams involved disgracing the uniform of U.S. Special Forces has been brought to justice, B) thankfully nobody was hurt despite the fact this unbalanced individual was armed, and C) media reports on this issue - and the conduct of persons involved - seemed to echo information posted here on Blog STORMBRINGER. If in fact postings here contributed to the apprehension of William Clark, then this is quite possibly the first known instance of human tracking via the resources of the Internet.

I received training and experience as a tracker during my time as an instructor at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center, and subsequently used those skills throughout my career, to this very day. Several aspects of a classic tracking operation came into play during the saga of William Clark, i.e. persistence (the track may go cold, but the trail can always be picked up again); the psychology of tracking (getting inside the head of the person you're tracking - avoiding the scenario of the hunter becoming the hunted); and modern technology - which usually involves using vehicles, aircraft, and specialized optics.

In this case the power of the Internet was harnessed to spread the word, and the tracking operation was conducted like a game three-tiered chess across five dimensions; the three dimensions of the physical world, the dimension of time and the dimension of the virtual world.

In urban operations technique known as "hiding in plain view" is used, which is the art of masking one's identity via ruse and deception. That concept works fine down by the Koenigstrasse in Stuttgart but doesn't get you too far in a rural environment like Alaska where William Clark obviously stood out like a sore thumb.

Just this afternoon I was telling my brother that the trail may go cold, but it never goes away. I knew we were going to get him, sooner or later.

This is a good omen.


SEAN LINNANE SENDS



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WILLIAM CLARK SIGHTING

This latest sighting took place Monday of last week, 23 August 2010. - S.L.


KTVA: Bizarre Con Man On Loose In Alaska




FAIRBANKS - A convicted con artist with a long history of impersonating Army officers has been up to his old tricks in Alaska, according to Fairbanks police.

A Fairbanks magistrate has issued a $100,000 arrest warrant for William James Clark, 37, on one charge third-degree weapons misconduct, or being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Fairbanks police were called to the North Star Council on Aging Monday afternoon after Clark reportedly showed a pistol to the director of the facility, Julie McCumby, and claimed to be a military police officer.

McCumby reportedly told police she believed Clark was mentally ill or an escapee from jail and that seniors were being moved out of the building and away from him, according to charging documents.

When Fairbanks police officer Joshua Lambert contacted him, Clark, a heavyset man with a blond crewcut, was smoking a cigarette while talking on his cell phone.

He had an empty handgun holster on his belt, and a loaded 9mm pistol was found in Clark's car. The gun was placed in the trunk for the safety of the officers present but not confiscated.

At the request of McCumby, Clark was issued a citation for trespassing told not to return. Officers did not take him into custody, and as Thursday night, he had not been apprehended.

While Clark has oustanding warrants in five different states, police were not aware of his history because the statewide Alaska Public Safety Information Network only listed him as a "person of interest" in a Juneau fraud and forgery case from late July and early August.

It was only after they let Clark go that officers discovered Clark's criminal history through the computerized National Crime Information Center. FPD Sgt. Eric Jewkes said that checking the NCIC is not something officers routinely do.

Juneau police spokeswoman Cindy Brown Mills would not release additional information about the department's investigation into Clark because he has not been formally charged.

It's unclear what exactly Clark was doing at the North Star Council on Aging. Because of the ongoing investigation, McCumby would not say if he was an employee or volunteer there, but said that despite Clark's lengthy record of fraud, there was no threat to the records kept there.

Monday's incident was just the latest in a long line of bizarre cases involving Clark.

Clark's most recent stint in jail ended in August 2009, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons.


The STORMBRINGER Effect:

Photos and pictures making the rounds on military message boards also seem place Clark at an Aug. 7 Anchorage gun show, during which he was reportedly looking to purchase ATVs for other, fictitious soldiers.

Clark was reportedly wearing a captain's uniform with badges indicating he had special forces, ranger and airborne qualifications.

Spokespeople for the Alaska State Troopers and Anchorage police department said neither agency have had any recent contact with Clark.


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YOU MIGHT BE A LIBERAL IF . . .

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you know gender is a social construct, but have no idea where electricity comes from.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the "evil" of Stalinist regimes is overstated and the tyranny of the American regime is never stated enough.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe portraying Bush as the Joker is political satire, but portraying Obama as the Joker is racist.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . if you believe Glenn Beck is an extremist because Keith Olbermann told you so.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . if you think America is a cesspool of fat lobotomized WalMart Jesusbots who have the gall to question your patriotism.

Code Pink Activist

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe in the separation of Church and State; Mosque and State, not so much.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that hurricanes are caused by people, and that crime is caused by the environment.

U.S. Marine Corps Recruiting Station, Berkeley California

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think that treating all people equally, regardless of race, is racist.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you burn tons of carbon to attend a global warming conference that only sanctions the cleanest nation on Earth.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe in having dialog with your opponents, and that they'd better shut up during this dialog.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think everyone would agree with you if they were open minded, and you refuse to listen to any other possibility.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that a mosque should be built at Ground Zero, but Jews shouldn't build apartments in East Jerusalem.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . if all your political arguments contain the phrase, "It's Bush's fault."

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that Pro-Life violates right of privacy, but you want to tell people they can't eat french fries.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe that immersing a crucifix in urine is fine art, but depicting the prophet Mohammed is insensitive.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the problem is that Obama is just too darn moderate.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you spend your day telling people that a border fence can't work, then drive home to your gated community.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think Sarah Palin was too inexperienced to be VP but that Obama had plenty of experience to be President.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the Right needs to be rounded up in camps to prevent them from acting like Nazis.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think credit card companies are evil when they lend money, and mortgage companies are evil when they don't.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you believe education is A) the single most critical key to our future, and B) impossible to measure.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think people have too many kids, and that those kids need to pay for your Social Security.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think the Government should be obsessed with race, but no one else should ever mention it.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think banks earning money on interest is wrong, but paying interest to China on the national debt is just peachy.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you think subsidies are an entitlement, tax cuts are a gift, and liberty is a controlled substance.

You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you totally hate haters, and wish those violent bastards would just die.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you've ever worried about the threat of Tea Party violence during a Dick Cheney heart attack thread on Kos.




You might be a liberal if . . .

. . . you are running low on Valium this weekend due to Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally.




This priceless brilliance came to me via the Twitter phenomenon . . . S.L.

SCHMEISSER

Hugo Schmeisser, 24 September 1884 – 12 September 1953

Hugo Schmeisser was one of the most influential and prolific developers of weapons of the 20th century. Born in Suhl, Germany in 1884, Schmeisser followed the profession of his father. His weapons designs played a significant role in both World Wars, throughout the Cold War and up until this very day.



Schmeisser's most well known weapon, the MP-38/40 sub-machinegun


On April 3, 1945, American troops began to occupy the city of Suhl. Weapons manufacturing was completely prohibited during this time. Hugo Schmeisser and his brother Hans were interrogated for weeks by weapon expert teams of the American and British Secret services. At the end of June 1945, American troops evacuated Suhl and all of Thuringia.



Schmeisser's STG-44 in use on the Russian Front during World War II.

One month later, the Red Army assumed control over the area, starting a civilian works project to manufacture weapons for the Soviet Union. By August 1945, the Red Army had created 50 StG44s from existing assembly parts, and had begun inspecting their design. 10,785 sheets of technical designs were confiscated by the Soviets as part of their research. In October 1945, Schmeisser was forced to work for the Red Army and instructed to continue development of new weapons.

Schmeisser's brilliance impressed the Red Army, and he, along with other weapons designers and their families, were relocated to the USSR. Schmeisser's work while in Izhevsk (1946-1952) is shrouded in darkness.

General Designer of small arms for the Soviet Army, Mikhail Kalashnikov's design subordinates included the Germans Hugo Schmeisser, designer of the StG-44, and Werner Grüner (of MG 42 fame) who was a pioneer in sheet metal embossing technology in the 1950s.



Mikhail Kalashnikov, the man credited with creating the AK-47 assault rifle, which to this day bears his name

Beyond Kalashnikov's 2009 admission that Hugo Schmeisser "helped" design the famous AK-47, which strongly resembles Schmeisser's StG44, little is known of Schmiesser's life during this period, until 1952 when he and other German specialists returned home to Germany.




The StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44 or "assault rifle model 1944") was the first modern assault rifle. Developed in Nazi Germany during World War II, it is considered the inspiration for the more widely known AK-47, or Kalishnikov post-WWII Soviet-designed assault rifle. (below)




Schmeisser's stay in the Soviet Union was extended beyond that of the other weapon specialists by six months. He finally returned home on June 9, 1952. Schmeisser died on 12 September 1953, and was buried in Suhl.

While the name of Hugo Schmeisser is known internationally, it is unknown to most Germans. The 50th anniversary of his death was honored by a ceremony held in Suhl, as he is recognized as one of the most important technical designers of infantry weapons of the 20th century.



Because of it's rugged durability and simple design, the AK-47 has been the most prolific assault rifle in the world for over fifty years.

THOR THURSDAY

For Valeria . . .

SIGHTING: FAKE SOLDIER WILLIAM CLARK

Regarding the phony wannabe William James Clark - I received this email just now:


Read your post on Blogspot and he was in our store in june and wrote a bad check for $700.00 our store is in Davenport Iowa. FYI


I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me that check fraud to the tune of $700 is well into felony space - this may explain the FBI's interest in this individual.




Again, the guidance here is CAUTION: While there is no question he is delusional, there is no knowing the mindset of this disturbed individual AND he is known to travel armed. If you encounter this pathetic phony wannabe William Clark - stall for time if appropriate, and contact law enforcement.


STORMBRINGER SENDS


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CORRECTION: GRIZZLY BEAR

From yesterday:
I thought it was unbelievable a motorcycle could kill a beast that big - that's why I called it "INCREDIBLE" - turns out that grizzly was killed by a pickup truck, not a Harley. The encounter took place in Montana, in 2007. Here's the original story with some of the same photos.



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PORTRAITS OF THE FALLEN

An artist named Kaziah Hancock paints portraits of fallen soldiers free of charge for their families as part of Project Compassion. Video by KARE 11/ Minneapolis/ St. Paul.




The selflessness of this woman is second only to the selfless sacrifice of the U.S. servicemen she portrays in oils.

There are many artists in my family. I studied art myself, and made a living starving at it before I picked up soldiering as a trade. This is my qualified assessment; Ms. Kaziah Hancock has incredible talent. Kaziah's portraits possess amazing lifelike qualities; energy, character and charisma shine through. I am quite certain that these portraits go a long way toward easing the pain of loss for the families of the fallen.

It is with great pleasure that we present Kaziah's work here on Blog STORMBRINGER

- S.L.



NOTE: Since posting this, STORMBRINGER has become aware that Kaziah's started Project Compassion, an organization of volunteer artists who paint portraits of fallen soldiers. Kaziah has personally completed 634 pieces, while her organization has framed and shipped 1,700 portraits to family members.

God Bless Kaziah Hancock in everything she does . . .



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SHOULD ISRAEL BOMB IRAN's NUCLEAR REACTOR IN BUSHEHR?

An excellent post from our good friend in the IDF - DoubleTapper - that says it all:





In other DoubleTapper news, I apparently missed Jewish Barbecue Day, 12 August:



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GRIZZLY vs HARLEY . . . INCREDIBLE ! ! !

Can you believe a MOTORCYCLE killed this HUGE GRIZZLY?


This grizzly was hit by a Harley on Lolo Pass, between Lolo, Montana and Kooskia, Idaho.

Lolo Pass, elevation 5,233 feet (1,595 m) is a mountain pass in the northern Rocky Mountains on the border between the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho approximately 25 miles (40 km) west-southwest of Missoula, Montana.

It is famous as the location where the Lewis and Clark Expedition crossed the summit of the Bitteroot Range via the Lolo Trail on their outward and return journeys in 1805-06.

Look at the claws on that sucker!

The biker spent three days in the hospital and the hog's a wreck!

Lesson learned: Don't go Bear Hunting with a Harley, they don't last but one hunt!


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EXPOSE YOURSELF TO ART

Danaë is Rembrandt's painting is a life-sized depiction of the character Danaë from Greek mythology, the mother of Perseus. She is presumably depicted as welcoming Zeus, who impregnated her in the form of a shower of gold.

Although the artist's wife Saskia was the original model for Danaë, Rembrandt later changed the figure's face to that of his mistress Geertje Dircx. Given that this is one of Rembrandt's most magnificent paintings, it is not out of the question that he cherished it, but it also may have been difficult to sell because of its eight-by-ten-foot size.

From the collection of Pierre Crozat, which from the 18th century resides in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.


I can just imagine all the comments I'm going to get about golden showers . . . heh . . . S.L.

.

GROUND ZERO MOSQUE UPDATE

This issue will remain on the front burner . . . I can think of no better cause to fight for as we approach the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks . . .


The building to house the proposed Cordoba House - a.k.a. Ground Zero Mosque - sustained damage on 9/11 when landing gear and other debris from one of the hijacked jetliners struck its roof.


Ground Zero Mosque: Who's For, Who's Against - Harry Reid is against it, Sarah Palin is very against it, and Obama can’t seem to decide . . . a break down of where politicians stand on the issue.




Newt Weighs In


Newt Gingrich believes that the choice to build this structure so close to Ground Zero was a political decision designed to send a statement and thus must be viewed in that context, rather than simply in the context of whether a house of worship should be allowed to be built (there are over 100 mosques in New York City and over 1000 in the United States).

The construction of this 13-story building is, in fact, a statement of Islamic triumphalism rather than a message of religious tolerance. Consider:

The project's offensive name: the Cordoba Initiative is a reference to Cordoba, Spain, a Spanish city that was captured by a Muslim army and became the capital of Spain during its 500-year occupation by the Moors. The name Cordoba is still seen today by radical Islamists as a symbol of Islamic superiority.

The Moorish mosque in Cordoba, Spain.

The proposed date of completion - the tenth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks - is a clear signal that the construction is supposed to be seen in connection with the attacks.

The project's backer, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf:

• has stated that U.S. policies "were an accessory" to the attacks on 9/11 and that "Osama bin Laden is made in the USA."
  

• has also refused to repudiate Hezbollah, the terrorist organization behind the 1983 Beirut bombing that killed 243 U.S. Marines and continues to rain down missiles into Israel from its base in southern Lebanon.

• is an apologist for Shariah Law, the Islamic law that is used to justify the execution of homosexuals, honor killings, and death sentences carried out by stoning, which he claims is compliant with the U.S. Constitution.

Follow The Money:

The American Society of Muslim Advancement - backers of the Cordoba House - much of the financing is also coming from groups with known ties to radical Islamist and terrorist factions. Among these:

• The Perdana Global Peace Organization, best known for their participation in the summer’s “freedom flotilla” to Gaza.

• The former director of the Alavi Foundation, which is currently facing federal charges for a shady relationship with a known financier of weapons of mass destruction research in Iran.

Other project backers have gone so far as to publicly declare support for the Hamas regime in Palestine and have links to many other radical groups such as the Islamic Circle of North America.


Sacred Ground

Ground Zero is as significant to our Nation's identity as Arlington National Cemetery or the Gettysburg battlefield. The construction of a mosque in a building that sustained damage in the September 11th terror attacks is more than an affront to our sensibilities; the Cordoba Mosque project represents no less than an attempt to erect an al Qaeda Victory Monument right on the site of their greatest battlefield achievement. This is the equivalent to inserting a Shinto shrine right inside the Arizona Memorial, dedicated to the Japanese pilots who lost their lives during the attack on Pearl Harbor.



This aerial photo of April 20, 2010, shows the New York city block, lower right, where the 13-story mosque is planned for construction two blocks north of the World Trade Center site, center left.


The fastest way I know to piss people off is to mess with religion - it's like pouring hot oil onto a blazing fire.

I guarantee you the Democrats & their willing minions in the left-leaning mainstream media wish this thing had never come up, and now that it's here they wish it would just go away . . . but it won't and we won't let it go away. . .


SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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DO NOT TRAVEL IN AMERICA

Congressman Ted Poe, in Congress, Thursday 19 August 2010:

"Do not travel south of Route 8 - we can't protect you."




INCREDIBLE


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NOT QUITE GANDHI . . .

GAZA PEACE ACTIVIST BOASTS HE COULD HAVE "TAKEN OUT" 3 IDF COMMANDOs


Some direct quotes from:
The weblog of Ken O’Keefe


A beautiful gift from the BBC

If you haven’t seen it, look for BBC Panorama’s “Death in the Med” program online, you will be treated to first class propaganda as only the BBC can deliver.

I am one of the passengers/witnesses interviewed for this program . . .

. . . I solicited an agreement with the BBC producers, in return for my interview the program would include the fact that we disarmed, captured and ultimately released three Israeli commandos (after giving them medical attention no less). That was the deal, a deal I made with an audio recorder in service.

And yes the poor Israeli commandos were beaten, just as any invader in any capable persons home would be beaten. I take no issue with that fact.

But truth be told, the commandos we captured should thank us for their lives. I ask the Israeli’s, British and American people specifically, if your home was invaded, your family being murdered, would you be willing to disarm, completely control, and then set a murderer of your family free???


STORMBRINGER: OKAY there Hero, we let you have your say; now here's the professional anaylsis:

Close-Up Footage of Mavi Marmara Passengers Attacking IDF Soldiers




Those Israeli commandos showed INCREDIBLE RESTRAINT, when in fact they had every right to use deadly force; every rule in the Law of Land Warfare allows a soldier to defend himself. Consider: these soldiers were following legal orders, enforcing a legal naval blockade designed to prevent the import of weapons via maritime means into Gaza - weapons intended for use in terror attacks against Israeli civilians.

In the course of their duties, the Israeli soldiers were set upon with stun grenades, chains and iron bars. In one of the clips we see an Israeli soldier being thrown overboard - weighed down with full combat kit, this is a potential death sentence.

To be swarmed by an armed mob like that, in confined space, my instincts would have been to open fire, take as many of them with me as possible. Some Israeli soldiers said they used their pistols only after activists struck one of their comrades. Activists on board said the IDF opened fire on the ship before boarding.

Espen Goffeng, an activist from Norway, said Israeli soldiers started with paintball rounds, then switched to rubber bullets and then afterwards used live ammunition. This kind of escalation of force is acceptable within normal Rule of Engagement. Again; the Law of Land Warfare does not preclude a combatant from using deadly force in self-defence.

Nine activists were shot and killed, many at close range, and dozens were injured. Again, the IDF showed incredible restraint. Any of the so-called "peace protestors" who survived the situation, should consider themselves very fortunate - THEY ARE LUCKY TO BE ALIVE.

Seven Israeli commandos were injured. The wounded activists were evacuated by Israeli air force helicopters for treatment in Israeli hospitals and medical facilities of the Israeli Prisons Service.


Mavi Marmara Passengers Attack IDF Before Soldiers Board Ship




These so-called "peace activists" were looking for a fight:

Weapons Found on the Flotilla Ship Mavi Marmara Used by Activists Against IDF Soldiers:




Over the past 10 years there have been many attempts to smuggle weapons to terrorist organizations by sea. These attempts highlight the cooperation between Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas in their goal to undermine the State of Israel and target its civilians.

Source: Talia Wissner-Levy, IDF News Media


May 7th, 2001: Santorini

The Santorini was intercepted on its way from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip. It contained a large shipment of 40 tons of weapons including Strela anti-aircraft missiles—the same kind that terrorists fired at and narrowly missed an Arkia Israeli passenger jet taking off from Mombassa, Kenya in November 2002. The shipment also included mortars, rifles and guns, grenades, mines and explosive material, anti-tank RPG-7 missile-launchers, and artillery rockets.

Three crew members aboard the Santorini were convicted for trying to smuggle weapons from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip — the captain, a professional weapons smuggler and two of his relatives aboard the ships, had been involved in three previous smuggling attempts backed by Hezbollah and PFLP-GC.

The Santorini was acquired by PFLP-GC in a small island off Syria, and registered as Syrian. During previous smuggling attempts by the crew, arms were packed in Syria and transferred to Lebanon by a Syrian bus. Part of the anti-tank weaponry originated from Iran.


January 3rd, 2002: Karin-A

Karin-A was intercepted in the Red Sea along the Iranian coast, heading towards the Palestinian Authority. It carried 80 submergible containers of 50 tons of weapons, including: RPG-7 rockets, RPG-18 anti-tank rocket launchers, Iranian-made anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, 2200 kilograms of high explosive demolition blocks, Sagger anti-tank launchers and missiles, as well as rifles, machine guns, AK-47s, 735 hand grenades, 700,000 rounds of small ammunition, and diving equipment. The submergible containers were to be dropped into the sea and then washed ashore the Gaza Strip or picked up by a smaller vessel and delivered to the Strip.

Yasser Arafat's former CFO and confidante at the time, Fuad Shubaki was heavily involved in the smuggling attempt, the crew included members of the P.A. and Arafat eventually admitted P.A. involvement in the smuggling attempt. The ship was purchased in Lebanon and sailed to Sudan and Yemen to pick up civilian goods (watermelon seeds, sesame seeds, rice, toys, clothes) to disguise the weapons aboard.

June 8th, 2002

Two Palestinians were found swimming along the north Gaza Strip shore armed with four grenades, an AK-47, and four ammunition magazines in an attempt to infiltrate an Israeli community.


August 4th, 2002

IDF naval forces identified an armed Palestinian wearing a oxygenated scuba diving suit and carrying an AK-47, 8 grenades, 4 ammunition magazines, who was on his way towards an Israeli community from the Gaza coast.


November 23rd, 2002

After many attempts to communicate with an unknown Palestinian fishing boat heading from the Gaza Strip towards the direction of Israel, the bomb-laden boat exploded near an Israeli security patrol boat, moderately injuring three and lightly injuring one.


January 7th, 2003

A suspicious life raft found floating along the northern Gaza Strip coast was found to be booby-trapped with explosives.


May 21st, 2003 Abu Hasan

The Abu Hasam was intercepted in waters west of Haifa, sailing from Lebanon to Egypt carrying Hezbollah explosives bound for the Gaza Strip. The boat itself was a fishing boat, no doubt used purposefully to disguise its intentions. Cargo contained: a radio-activation system to detonate bombs remotely, CDs of directives on how to carry out suicide bomb terror attacks, five boxes with rocket fuses, and 25 Katyusha rocket detonators. The masterminds of the arms smuggling attempt were connected to Arafat's P.A. and Hezbollah.


October 12th, 2009 Hansa India

The Hansa India, which sailed from Iran flying a German flag was due to unload a cargo of eight containers in Egypt. Following warnings from the German authorities, the vessel was not unloaded and continued to Malta where it was seized and found to be carrying bullets and industrial material intended for the production of weapons, seemingly bound for Syria.


November 3th, 2009 Francop

The Francop, a German vessel, was intercepted off the coast of Cyprus en route from Iran to Syria where it would be smuggled by land to Hezbullah in Lebanon. The ship contained 36 containers with 500 tons of arms: 9,000 mortar bombs, 3,000 Katyusha rockets, 3,000 gun shells, 20,000 grenades and half of a million rounds of small ammunition, all hidden behind sacks of polyethelene. The arms smuggling was attempted without the knowledge of the crew: the cache was loaded from the Bandar Port in Iran on an Iranian vesel and stopped at an Egyptian port, where the cache was unloaded onto the Francop. The cache was ten times larger than the cache seized from the Karin A.


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ODA SIGNAGE

"ODA" stands for Operational Detachment Alpha - the basic organizational structure of US Army Special Forces. About the size of a large squad or a small platoon, an ODA is more comparable to a Battalion Staff - for that is the organization that it mirrors; the guerrilla battalion command element and staff - Special Forces work intimately with the local people and the "indigenous" forces.





These photos were taken in Firebase Chamkani - established 17 Dec 2004 - sent in anonymously by a member of ODA 3333 - I do not know if he is aware that I once served on that detachment. Judging by the initials, I suspect I know who it is.

Here is a link to an excellent article regarding US Army Special Forces activities in this area, involving detachments from my old outfit; 1st Battalion, 3d Special Forces Group:

US Army Tribal Engagement in Afghanistan


SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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A SUMMING UP

I took some time today to attend to personal errands; it seemed like the first time for a breather in at least three months - work has been INCREDIBLY busy and uniquely stressful . . .




The tempo of my work is very much like a military campaign - not a conventional battlefield by any means but no less a battlefield than any I've marched across in this or any of my previous lives . . . the little things are very important, the big things are very simple, a bit of drama here or there morphs into sheer MADNESS at the drop of a hat and THEN . . .

For want of a nail the shoe was lost.

For want of a shoe the horse was lost.

For want of a horse the rider was lost.

For want of a rider the battle was lost.

For want of a battle the kingdom was lost.

And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.





. . . if you've noticed a drop in the quality of posts over the past six weeks, now you know why . . .


At this time STORMBRINGER is a hobby of course; the main effort is my work. In my life I have had the fortune to have fallen into an occupation that IS a lifestyle - soldiering. There is a Zen-like aspect; Laborare est Orare - "To Work is to Pray" - motto of the Benedictine monks. The ultimate goal of Blog STORMBRINGER is to contribute to the ongoing struggle of Good against Evil; to explore the warrior ethos and my own personal philosophy; to defend & honor all that is good and decent of our culture from the daily assault of the destructive forces of leftism / nihilism / aetheism / Islamic-Fundamentalism / Marxist-socialism / fascism / terrorism, etc, etc.


In battle there often comes a lull in the tempo of fire; this is the time to take stock of the situation and use the opportunity to consolidate forces. So let us see; where are we in the current struggle of Good versus Evil?


2009:

o January 20 - Never mind the mystery of Barack Obama's origin, his very swearing in was fraught with controversy; Chief Justice of the Supreme Court John Roberts recited the Oath of Office incorrectly. One constitutional scholar observed that "it's an open question whether [Obama is] president until he takes the proper oath." Chief Justice Roberts re‑administered the oath on the evening of January 21, 2009 in the Map Room of the White House. The Oath was administered as it appears in the Constitution, however no Bible was present during the retake of the inauguration, which gives raises eyebrows . . .





o January 22 - President Obama signs an Executive Order announcing the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within a year and signs a prohibition on using torture and other illegal coercive techniques, such as waterboarding, during interrogations and detentions. Over eighteen months later Guantanamo Bay is still open for business as a holding place for al Qaeda terrorists - in itself a good thing, but an scathing indicator of Obama's leadership abilities.

o March 2 - Secretary of State Clinton pledges US$900 million of humanitarian and development aid to terror group Hamas, the ruling political entity of Gaza Strip and the West Bank, at a donor conference in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt.




o March 3 - 12 gunmen in Pakistan attack the national cricket team of Sri Lanka and their police escorts. Six policemen are killed in the attack, as well as two bystanders.

o March 13 - Department of Justice outlines a new legal standard for suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo; "enemy combatant" definition is dropped; suspects are now to be detained under international law.

o March 27 - Obama announces a new strategy for the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan; it takes him another six months to determine how many troops to send.

o April 1 - Sweden becomes the fifth European country to legalize same-sex marriage; other countries with the same rights are The Netherlands, Norway, Belgium and Spain.

o April 5 - Obama gives a thoughtful speech on nuclear proliferation disarmament to a public crowd in Prague. Earlier, the North Korean government launched a long-range multi-stage rocket.

o April 12 - Richard Phillips, captured by pirates in the Maersk Alabama hijacking, is freed by Navy Seals after Obama approves military action. Body count math = 3X terr KIAs, 1X EPW.

Chalk one up for the Good Guys.

o April 16 - Justice Department releases memos detailing enhanced interrogation techniques used by the CIA on Al Qaeda suspects.

o May 9 - Obama attends White House Correspondents' Dinner, featuring special guest comedian Wanda Sykes. Wanda exclaims "I hope Rush Limbaugh dies of kidney failure." Obama joins in laughter & applause.

o June 4 - President Barack Obama gives a speech in Cairo, Egypt, referencing the Qur'an and other Muslim texts to more than one thousand Cairo University students. During a subsequent worldwide apology tour to "repair the image of America around the world," Obama bows to the King of Saudi Arabia and the Emperor of Japan.




o July 30 - President Obama and Vice President Biden hold a "beer summit" at the White House with Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates and the arresting officer Sgt. James Crowley of the Cambridge Police Department, in order compare the arrest of Gates in his Massachusetts home on July 16 to issue of race in America. Obama had earlier stated that the police department had "acted stupidly" in arresting Gates.




o August 20 - Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi, Libyan terrorist convicted of bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 (exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988 killing 270 people) is freed from prison on compassionate grounds by Scotland's Justice Minister, Kenny MacAskill.




Suffering from terminal prostate cancer and expected to die within three months, al-Megrahi experiences miracle recovery; one year later there is no sign of the disease. British Petroleum receives favorable drilling leases from the Libyan government.


o September 25 - At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, Obama and the leaders of France and the UK make a public statement accusing Iran of constructing a secret nuclear facility near Qom.


o October 9 - The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to President Barack Obama for no discernable reason.

o October 23 - President Obama declares a national emergency in response to the H1N1 pandemic. Ten months later, the World Health Organization announces the official end of the H1N1 pandemic - nobody takes notice.




o October 29 - The caskets of eighteen American soldiers killed in action in Afghanistan are used as unwitting props in a photo op by President Obama at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware.

o November 9 - Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu humiliated by Barack Obama; after failing to extract a written promise of concessions on settlements, Mr Obama walked out of his meeting with Mr Netanyahu - no photo op.

Nidal Malik Hasan


o November 10 - President Barack Obama gives eulogy at the Fort Hood ceremony honoring those killed in the shooting rampage on November 5, 2009, by Major Nidal Malik Hasan. No mention of prominent Islamic themes in Hasan's writings; fundamentalism, terrorism, jihad, etc.

o December 5 - Italian jury convicts American student Amanda Knox of murdering her former roommate, Meredith Kercher in some kind of a weird sexual role-playing scenario gone horribly awry with Knox's then-boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, also convicted. This goes to show you where all those virtual reality video games will take you; the pair receive prison sentences of 26 and 25 years, respectively.

o December 25 - Northwest Airlines Flight 253 target of unsuccessful al-Qaeda bombing attempt on Christmas Day; 23-year-old Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab failed to set off plastic explosives sewn to his underwear.


U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder decides to prosecute Abdulmutallab in federal court rather than detain him as an enemy combatant under the Law of War.

2010:

o January 3 - U.S., U.K. close their embassies in Yemen due to ongoing security threats from the terrorist group alQaeda. Military and intelligence organizations in Yemen warn of plans to attack Western groups in the capital; military action prevents the threatened attacks.




o January 12 - 7.0-Magnitude Earthquake Devastates Port-au-Prince, Haiti; region's worst earthquake in 200 years, levels many sections of the city, experts estimate a staggering death toll of 200,000 people. Nominally useless, U.N. exceeds its own gold-standard reputation of uselessness.

o February 2 - Defense Officials Seek End to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" following President Obama's State of the Union Declaration that he wants an end to the military policy "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which forbids openly gay men and women to serve in the military.

o February 18 - Plane crashes into office of the Internal Revenue Service in Austin, Texas, killing the pilot & one person in the building, thirteen others injured. Pilot Andrew Joseph Stack III was holding a grudge against the government and the tax system. Media blames Tea Party; Stack was in fact a registered Democrat.



o March 8 - Worthless war-porn movie that portrays professional soldiers as crazed adrenalin junkies wins big at Academy Awards; The Hurt Locker wins Oscars for Best Director, Best Picture. Hurt Locker's fictitious screenplay has no basis in fact.

o March 29 - Female Suicide Bombers Kill 39 in Russian Subway Stations; two female suicide bombers, acting just minutes apart, detonate bombs in two Moscow subways stations, killing at least 39 people.

o March 31 - Mr. Obama announces that he will approve oil and gas exploration in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Virginia, ending a moratorium on drilling off the East Coast of the United States.

o April 5 - President Obama announces revised American nuclear strategy, limiting the instances in which the U.S. will use nuclear weapons.

o April 15 - President Obama outlines NASA's new mission: to "reach out" to the Muslim world, rather than deep space exploration or lunar exploration.




o April 20 - Oil rig explodes off coast of Lousiana, 11 killed, 17 injured. Criticizing BP's handling of the crisis, President Obama sends Justice Department officials to the region to explore litigation opportunities.

o April 23 - Obama strongly criticizes newly-passed Arizona SB1070 measure against illegal immigration, calling for federal immigration reform (i.e. amnesty).

o May 6 - New York City community board committee to approve plans to construct a thirteen-story supermosque adjacent to Ground Zero; organizers estimate that the mosque will attract as many as 2,000 worshipers on Fridays. Cordoba House is to be named after the medieval Spanish town where Muslims ruled over Jews and Christians for 500 years. Once a Burlington Coat Factory, 45-47 Park Place closed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks due to damage sustained by the landing gear from one of the planes used in the attacks.



Relatives of 9/11 victims, firefighters, police, veterans and citizenry across the nation rally against

o August 13 - At a Friday evening observation of breaking the Ramadan fast, President Barack Obama stated, "Muslims have the right to build the mosque near Ground Zero" In a later attempt to retrack, Obama stated that he was simply supporting the developers' right to build, ". . . in this country, we treat everybody equally in accordance with the law. Regardless of race. Regardless of religion. I was not commenting on and will not comment on the wisdom of making a decision to put a mosque there."

The Ground Zero Mosque is now generally considered an outrageous affront to the memory of the victims who perished on 9/11; a potential al Qaeda Victory Monument right at Ground Zero.


The situation continues to develop . . .

SEAN LINNANE SENDS


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